A Ukrainian Journalist Explains 10 Things The West Needs To Know About The Situation In Kiev

[Editor's note: This article was submitted to Business
Insider by Taras
Ilkiv, who felt that outsiders needed to understand these 10
things to comprehend the situation in Kiev. Ilkiv is the
Editor-In-Chief of Newsradio.com.ua, the website for Voice of Capital
radio, and formerly an editor at Korrespondent.net.
He is from Ivano-Frankivsk in Western Ukraine, and has lived in
Kiev for the past seven years. The opinions expressed in this
article are his own.]

People are fighting for their rights, not for EU membership.

Protests in Ukraine are not pro-EU (as it is written in most of
international news agencies). The disruption of the association
agreement with the European Union in November was only cause for
local rallies. But after a peaceful student protest was violently
dispersed by the 'Berkut' [special police] in Kyiv on Nov. 30, a
million angry people took to the central square of the capital.
Since then rebellion has not gone away; instead it turned into an
anti-government uprising demanding the resignation of the Prime
Minister and Interior Minister, and also the resignation of
President Viktor Yanukovych. Most people are tired of total
corruption in all spheres of life and the lack of justice and
security officials' self-will. The middle class has become an
engine of the protest since it suffered harassment from the tax
agencies. Now the protest has joined with the radicals, who
actually began violent confrontation on Sunday, tired of waiting
for action from the liberal opposition. However, they have
support among the majority of protesters.

REUTERS/Gleb
Garanich

The focus of the protests is the democratically elected President
Viktor Yanukovych

During the presidential elections in 2010, according to the
testimony of international observers, Viktor Yanukovych
legitimately beat his main opponent — the world-famous woman and
former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Then, during his rule,
authorities condemned her for a disadvantageous
gas contract with Russia and sentenced her to seven
years in prison! Afterwards Yanukovych and his crew did not dare
to go against the Russians and review the contract or resolve the
issue in court. This event has spoiled relations of Ukraine’s
President with Western leaders. President Obama is ignoring
Yanukovych; and Vladimir Putin — with whom Tymoshenko signed gas
contracts in 2009 — declared his readiness to accept the
treatment of Tymoshenko in Russia for her back ailment.

Reuters/STOYAN NENOV

Many Ukrainians are upset at the power of the "family"

The so-called Family (an informal power structure, which consists
of officials close to the President) is a very important part of
the difficult situation in the country, as some of the most
profitable sectors of the Ukrainian economy are under its
control. This structure pursues expansion in the media market by
acquiring major publication houses. The biggest media-holding,
which publishes Forbes and other big brands, was recently
redeemed for $300-400 million. Also, since most of the channels
have tried to avoid criticism of the authorities, more or less
truthful news was only available on the Internet. The total
wealth of the President’s son, Alexander Yanukovych, in is
alleged to have tripled, reaching $510 million, in recent years,
and the President himself won't explain how that could have
happened.

AP

Another problem: Ukraine's strong power vertical

During his reign Yanukovych transformed the country from a
parliamentary republic to a presidential system. He built a
rugged chain of command, where all power structures, tax
agencies, prosecutors and courts are directly subordinated to his
will. He uses it not only as a tool to decimate his opponents,
but also to solve his necessary business matters.

REUTERS/Alexander
Demianchuk

People find it hard to uncover the truth

Ukraine has almost no independent media outside of the Internet.
Some people from the industrial East, which borders with Russia,
do not even know the truth about what is happening in Kyiv.
Central TV channels just do not show, or distort the information.
Printing presses are monopolized or owned by oligarchs. Until
recently, the only true island of freedom was of the Internet,
but last Friday Yanukovych signed a law that allows anybody to
close any websites without trial or warning because of the
slightest complaint. Journalists face enormous pressure and huge
campaigns to discredit them. One journalist, Tatyana Chornovol,
who wrote about the wealth of Yanukovych, was recently severely
beaten by five intruders.

AP

Intimidation has become a part of daily life

Within this strong repressive machine, the courts and prosecutors
can intimidate those activists and public figures who disagree
with the regime. Some people were forced to flee abroad, while
some are deprived of property. The president blames it on the
courts, but everyone understands that the courts are fully
controlled by him. For example, Yanukovych signed an act on
Friday that allows a person to be sentenced without his or her
presence in the court, as it was in times of Stalin in the
mid-twentieth century. The Government even hires special fighters
from sports clubs, performing the "dirty" job of intimidation of
people who disagree. Many of Yanukovych's former supporters have
lost their businesses over the last few years because of the
expansion of the Family empire. Journalists have concluded that
this structure, which is controlled by the president’s son, began
to absorb more and more of other people's assets.

REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

The opposition is weak

The Ukrainian opposition is going through hard times. It is
represented by at least three political forces. One of the
parties, which was once headed by Tymoshenko, has repeatedly been
elected to Parliament and is largely discredited, but still
elected. The second is headed by world boxing champion Vitali
Klitschko, and has been able to get a lot of support recently.
They have been called the most suitable party for the
presidential office. The third force are the nationalists, which
gained popularity due to the success of their radical slogans
amongst disappointed electorate. After two months of protest,
none of these parties have found a compromise with the
government, and none have offered any clear plan of action for
the people. The leaders of these three parties are fighting
tacitly amongst themselves for the post of the one and only
opposition candidate in elections in 2015. Their uncoordinated
actions disappointed radicals, who went on to clash with police
on Sunday, Jan. 19. After four days of bloody confrontation,
these political leaders have been unable to find a way out of the
situation. They no longer have any control in the riots.

REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili

The 'Berkut' units poses a special problem

The mainstay of the Yanukovych regime is the 'Berkut' special
forces, troops that are part of the Ministry of Interior. Though
they have had no official status, they are formed of police
officers specially trained to suppress the uprising. Their number
is small — only four thousand — but they are particularly severe
and receive a good salary for their work. Only in recent days
have pictures been circling on the Web of these special forces
brutally beating journalists and peaceful demonstrators. Recently
they allegedly caught protesters, stripped them and doused them
with water at 14°F. In addition, in recent days, they
indiscriminately fired on protesters — an act that is clearly
against the law. It is important to note that so far the army
refused to defend the regime of Yanukovych and fight against the
people, according to Ukrainian sources.

This video shows the Berkut:

Most people think the West has been too passive

Until this week the reaction of the U.S. and other Western
countries to the events in Ukraine was very low-key. Many
protesters do not really believe in that the EU and the U.S. are
ready to help Ukrainians uphold democratic values. Additionally,
there were rumors in the local press that America agreed to give
Ukraine to Putin in exchange for increasing U.S. influence in
Syria and other hot spots. The first shift was detected only on
Jan. 22, when the United States finally announced visa sanctions
against the officials involved in violence against peaceful
demonstrators in Ukraine’s capital after the death of several
people in the Kyiv rally. The EU has just issued diplomatic
statements, saying they will not impose any sanctions yet. Here's
an interesting fact: To get tourist a visa for few days' visit to
the EU, Ukrainians have to go through an extremely complicated
procedure and pay a fee of 35 euros (the average salary in
Ukraine is around 300 euros). All the officials involved in the
Yanukovych regime have the right to freely visit the EU.

AP

The protests themselves have been amazingly innovative

If you walk through the center of Kyiv city you will be shocked
how the heart of the riot, the Square of Independence (Maidan
Nezalezhnosti), is working: People from all over Ukraine are
coming to Maidan, bringing everything you need to live in
military conditions. There are a lot of tents where you can get
rest, a couple of heating barrels, field kitchens, a stage,
Maidan's own hospital, private security and even an impromptu
university. There is no alcohol in this place, and strict
discipline is the main advantage of Maidan. On the borders of the
square they have built huge barricades in case of regime assault.
Despite the reports of the pro-government media, all the people
are here not for "American money" but for the idea and for a
better future. One unique form of protest is the "Automaidan."
The drivers just take their cars and block SWAT buses or whole
police buildings to prevent the possible illegal actions against
peaceful people.